Kawhi Leonard's 24 points lead Raptors past Cavaliers

Kyle Irving and Gilbert McGregor
and others
• 7 min read
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The Toronto Raptors are back!

After a hectic offseason of roster and coaching changes, the Raptors kicked off their 2018-19 NBA season at home with a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kawhi Leonard was tremendous in his Toronto debut, scoring 24 points with 13 rebounds and a pair of assists. Kyle Lowry was red hot all night long, scoring a team-high 27 points shooting 8-for-10 from the field.

If you missed any of the action, don't sweat it because we had you covered.

Check out below for highlights, scoring updates and everything else from the Raptors first win of the season.

Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Box Score | Play-by-play

Final: Raptors 116, Cavaliers 104

10:10 p.m. -  Raptors win! Kawhi Leonard was great in his Toronto debut with 24 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.


Team Stats:

Raptors-Cavs-Final

9:55 p.m. -  Pascal Siakam denies Cedi Osman at the rim! Kawhi Leonard came up with the board and broke out in transition, drawing a clear path foul. He hit both free throws giving the Raptors a 110-101 lead with two and a half minutes remaining.


9:48 p.m. -  Serge Ibaka is up to three blocks on the night. Here's the latest: not today George Hill.


9:42 p.m. -  OG Anunoby will not return to the game, he has a right orbital contusion (eye bruise). The Raptors lead 100-88 with 7:30 remaining.

9:33 p.m. -  Three straight buckets for Jordan Clarkson has cut the Raptors lead to nine early in the fourth. Quick timeout by Nick Nurse leading 90-81.

End of 3rd Quarter: Raptors 90, Cavaliers 75

9:29 p.m. -  The Raptors are shooting 48% from three with 12 makes from beyond the arc. They're up 15 after three quarters of play.


9:22 p.m. -  Don't let Kawhi Leonard's debut distract you from the fact that Kyle Lowry is ballin' tonight. He's up to 19 points shooting 7-for-8 from the field and 5-for-6 from long range!


9:14 p.m. -  There are now four Raptors in double-digits. Kawhi Leonard's 19 points is still a team-high. Kyle Lowry's total is up to 16 and Pascal Siakam has 13 points shooting 6-for-7 from the field. Danny Green has 11 points and three made threes. They are up big on the Cavaliers, 82-63 midway through the third.

9:09 p.m. -  Tristan Thompson made a business decision to not go all in on this one. Kawhi Leonard with a BIG dunk. The Raptors lead is now up to 20 at 75-55 with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter.


Half: Raptors 60, Cavaliers 47

8:47 p.m. -  Toronto is up 13 at the half. Kawhi Leonard leads all scorers with 12 points and also has a team-high seven rebounds. Kyle Lowry has 10 points and six assists and Pascal Siakam has nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. The Raptors are sharing the wealth with 10 players scoring, dishing 15 assists on 25 made field goals.

Kevin Love leads the Cavaliers with nine points and five rebounds despite shooting 1-for-9 from the field. Tristan Thompson has a game-high nine rebounds.


Team Stats:

Raptors-Cavs-Halftime-Stats

8:37 p.m. -  Jonas Valanciunas throws a sweet behind-the-back pass to a cutting OG Anunoby for baseline dunk! The Raptors are on a 15-5 run to take a 54-13 lead, their largest of the game!


8:35 p.m. -  A pair of free throws has Kawhi Leonard up to double digits. He has 10 points shooting 4-for-9 from the field. He is 4-for-6 after missing his first three field goal attempts. Toronto leads 50-41 with four mintues and change left in the half.

8:27 p.m. -  Back-to-back triples for the Raptors! Kawhi Leonard sets up Kyle Lowry for a three ball, then Lowry sets up Danny Green in transition! Toronto is up 42-36 midway through the second quarter.

End of 1st Quarter: Raptors 28, Cavaliers 25

8:13 p.m. -  Toronto leads after one! Kawhi has a team-high six points. The Raptors have eight assists on 13 field goals. Kyle Lowry has four assists, Fred Van Vleet with three. For Cleveland, Cedi Osman's seven points are a team-high. Kevin Love has added six points and four boards.

Danny Green's bucket to end the quarter was his first in a Raptors uniform!


8:02 p.m. -  Cedi Osman has it going early for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has seven points shooting 3-for-5 from the field. Toronto leads 20-19 with 3:19 left in the first.

7:54 p.m. -  OG Anunoby checked in for Pascal Siakam and immediately ran the floor for a big time dunk! Siakam has two fouls, but knocked down his first two shots and has five points. Toronto leads 11-10 early.


7:51 p.m. -  And Kawhi Leonard is on the board in Toronto! Kyle Lowry passed up an open layup to feed his teammate on the break.


7:48 p.m. -  A Kyle Lowry lay-up is the first bucket of the Raptors 2018-19 season!


7:47 p.m. -  Scotiabank Arena was so loud you couldn't even hear Kawhi Leonard's intro.

7:12 p.m. -  The Cavaliers are going with George Hill, Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Larry Nance Jr., J.R. Smith and Billy Preston are all inactive tonight.

6:56 p.m. -  The starting five. Chris Boucher, Jordan Loyd or Delon Wright are all listed as OUT for opening night.


6:21 p.m. -  Are you ready for this? Because we certainly are.


4:24 p.m. -  Scotiabank Arena will be a sea of red for the season opener tonight!


 

Author(s)
Kyle Irving and Gilbert McGregor